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Set Photo Reveals First Look at Godzilla in Godzilla 2

Even though we're still a year and a half away from its release, director Michael Dougherty is teasing fans with another image from the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters. There have already been leaked pictures of some destruction, whilst viral promos have hinted at the other Kaiju that the big guy will be facing. But now Dougherty has tweeted the very first image of Godzilla, albeit perhaps not in the form that some people would like to see.

With the first Godzilla movie earning over $520 million worldwide, and the positive reception it had with most monster movie fans, a sequel was never really in any doubt. Little was it suspected at the time that the film would be the first step in creating a Monsterverse, which would re-invent classic Toho Kaiju and pit them against each other. This soon became apparent when clear links were established between that film and Kong: Skull Island. As Dougherty was announced as director and further details were given, it was realized that the sequel would be a monster-fest with several creatures thrown into the mix.

Dougherty has since posted images on social media as filming started, with one recent tweet apparently showing an "Oxygen Destroyer," which is a clear throwback reference to an important weapon and plot point in the 1954 Toho original. As regards Big-G himself though, we've seen nothing so far. That was until Dougherty posted this on-set photo:

While it's not a scale model or a glimpse of an elaborate SFX shot showing the colossus in all his glory, it is very definitely Godzilla and the first glimpse we've had of him from the film. But it's obviously a very early rendering of the King of Monsters, and seems to have been set up for a reaction shot. The face is being projected onto a large screen, above what seems to be the cockpit of a plane. The only description that Dougherty gives is that it's day 69 of the scheduled shoot. Given the sparse detail and lack of context to the shot, it's hard to read much into it. But the features of Godzilla seem to mostly remain the same as the previous film, apart from the increased stockiness around his neck. This could be due to any number of reasons, but some people on social media have wondered whether it indicates that the Kaiju has evolved into an even tougher monster after his last battle, or that he's wearing armor of some kind, or even that "something" has wrapped itself around him.

It's a canny move by the filmmaker as it reveals little but has caused a lot of online excitement. It only whets the appetite for further shots and details for the movie itself. The human cast is proving to be just as strong as the Kaiju, including the likes of Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Vera Farmiga, Charles Dance, and the returning Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) as the surviving Monarch scientists. We'll bring you more shots and news about Godzilla: King of the Monsters as we get it.